4 minute read
Cover story
7th Street Cafe reinvents itself
BY JOSEPH PETERSON
Special to The News-Post
7th Street Cafe is transforming. The popular lunch spot known for extensive sandwich options has expanded its hours and menu and has even added a small bar featuring daily drink specials.
These changes come as the familyowned and operated business looks beyond the lunch rush and aims to offer itself as something more: a little watering hole with memorable food that’s just outside of the bustle of downtown Frederick. As one employee told me, having a place nearby Fort Detrick, especially, presents a convenient weeknight option for a lot of base workers to unwind and fill up. “We have been known as a lunchtime spot since we opened,” Lexie Wittstadt, manager. said founder and owner Tom Hix. “Prior to the pandemic, there 7TH STREET would be a line out the door just to order,
CAFE not to mention a full 903 W. Seventh St., Frederick dining room of men and women in uniform enjoying lunch over 301-663-1516 from the base. 7thstreetsandwich.com “But as everyone is aware, things have changed since the pandemic,” Hix added. “More people work from home, cook at home, and going out for lunch isn’t as common — at least for some — as it used to be.”
Like many restaurants navigating difficult realities in the wake of COVID-19, challenges are met with creative adaptations, which, for 7th Street Cafe, meant creating more options and upping the ante with ambience.
“We’ve always known we had potential to become a sweet little hangout for Hood students, nurses getting off long shifts and military personnel from the base, but nothing really gave us the drive to do it until we were giving it everything we had to fight back from the pandemic,” said Lexi Wittstadt, Hix’s daughter and restaurant manager.
And fight they did. As an owner-operated business, the family and their loyal team got busy. They introduced skimboards, their unique take on flatbread pizza, and got their liquor license to expand their lunch-spot reputation to a place offering food, drinks and a vibe that invites customers to relax at the end of the day, Wittstadt said.
reinvents itself
The updates are eye-catching, especially to those who haven’t been inside for a while. Upon entering, the first thing you see is the small bar display directly behind the counter, which is sparse but artfully adorned. You’re also met with a distinct beachy surf vibe not only in the decor but in the naming conventions on the menu: short boards (smaller sub sandwiches) and long boards (bigger sandwiches), boogie boards and beach clubs, as well as the aforementioned skimboards. Even their website background is a video loop of ocean waves crashing against the shore.
There’s a nostalgic reason for the surf-inspired decor. The theme of the restaurant is inspired by the Outer Banks, Hix says. “My first restaurant was in Duck, North Carolina, and since we can’t move to the beach, we brought it here to Frederick.”
Asked whether any menu items originated as family favorites before they made the cut to diners, Wittstadt replied, “A better question is what isn’t a family recipe! From the bread that is the foundation of all our sandwiches to the little chocolate chip cookies that come wrapped inside them, we make it all from recipes that have been part of our family long before they were 7th Street staples.”
Their homemade bread is the real star of what makes lasting fans of their sandwiches. The same goes for their handmade crust on their house pizzas — er, skimboards. But it’s the toppings and fillings that build their reputation
MY PICK
I keep returning for the Cowabunga, a turkey pesto sandwich with a heap of veggies, including marinated artichoke, shredded summer squash and sprouts. I like it on toasted wheat bread, but it comes standard on a hoagie.
for creative and delicious ingredient combinations.
The 7th Street Steak and Cheese, the Godfather (ham, pepperoni, hard salami, capicola, provolone, sweet red peppers, olives, lettuce, tomato, onion and vinaigrette) and the Turkey Club have been popular staples for years. And while not always available, their takes on a Cubano and a Vietnamese Banh Mi make frequent rounds on the specials menu, due to popular demand.
So, yes, the little cafe with a lot of heart and tiny cookies is transforming, but it might be more accurate to say it’s becoming. That has more of a sense of something growing into its idealized expression. And what 7th Street Cafe is becoming isn’t just a place with great food, as it’s already that. It’s becoming a place to go for a while, to meet with friends and grab a drink. For college students, healthcare workers, base personnel and other neighbors, it’s more than just a lunch spot; it’s a place to belong.
Joseph Peterson can usually be found reading the weathered plaques of obscure monuments he sees while wandering the city. He counts public libraries, public lands and places where local community is fostered among his favorite kinds of places. 72 HOURS | Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023 | 11
